Santa Monica College
Planetarium Director Jon Hodge
– whose fascinating and lay-friendly shows have attracted tens of
thousands of adults and children over the past 26 years – has had
an asteroid named after him.

It is a fitting
tribute to a man who will soon officially retire from SMC and whose passion
for the stars is exceeded perhaps only by his ever-affable nature and
his ability to turn complex subjects into understandable lectures for
people of all ages.

“Jon is very
charming, educated and well-read,” said
Vicki Drake, chair of the SMC Earth Science
Department, which includes astronomy. “I can’t think of a
more worthy individual to receive this eternal honor.”
Asteroid 18117, now called “Jonhodge” (all asteroids have
one-word names), was discovered July 5, 2000 by the Lowell Observatory
in Arizona. It is located in the main asteroid belt between the orbits
of Mars and Jupiter.

Officially, Hodge
is being recognized for his “enormous contribution to the dissemination
of astronomical and scientific knowledge to the general public, college
students and schoolchildren.”
And he has been cited not only for his work at SMC, but also for his lectures
at UCLA and Griffith Observatory.

I was completely
bowled over,” Hodge said, referring to the surprise sprung on him
by his colleagues in the Earth Science Department when they recently presented
him the certificate affirming the naming of the asteroid after him. “I
was, for once, speechless.”

Indeed, it is difficult
to imagine Hodge speechless because his whole life has been devoted to
talking. Over the years, he has talked about every subject imaginable
in the universe, many with catchy titles such as “Apocalypse Now:
The Asteroid Risk,” “How Big is Space?” and “This
Alien Earth.”

His public planetarium
shows are held on Friday nights and feature the 7 p.m. “Night Sky”
and 8 p.m. feature shows, which change monthly. But he has also put on
shows and lectured to thousands of SMC students and schoolchildren, tailoring
his material to his audience.

His shows have
survived earthquakes and have soared to new heights with the construction
a few years ago of a new 50-seat facility, complete with the state-of-the-art
Digistar projection system.

The planetarium
had been closed for nearly five years in the early and mid-1990s –
first because of a reconstruction project in what was then called the
Technology Building (now Drescher Hall) and then, shortly before the planetarium
was to reopen, because of the 1994 earthquake.

But the earthquake
presented the opportunity for some fundraising and – with a generous
gift from the late John Drescher
– it reopened in June 1997 with new seats, a new dome, the new projection
system and other high-tech features.

And though the
planetarium was closed for nearly five years, Hodge’s illustrated
lectures continued in an SMC classroom – with no dip in attendance.

Ironically, Hodge’s
college degree is not even in astronomy. He started out as an astronomy
major at USC, but switched to the history of medieval science. “It
turned out to be good background for the planetarium field,” he
said.

After graduating,
he started work at the Griffith Observatory in 1971, first as a guide
and then as a lecturer. He took over as SMC’s planetarium director
in 1979, but continued to lecture at Griffith until it closed three years
ago for major renovations. And he has also maintained his connection at
Griffith by sitting on its curatorial committee, which has dealt with
the design of new exhibits that will be on public display when the observatory
reopens in 2006. He has also worked with UCLA, organizing popular public
seminars.

Hodge has established
himself in Southern California’s active astronomical scene, bringing
in guest lecturers to SMC from such organizations as Griffith, Cal Tech,
UCLA and the Jet Propulsion Lab. He is also a member of the Astronomical
Society of the Pacific and the International Planetarium Society.

“He knows
everybody and everybody knows him,” said John
Mosley, program supervisor at Griffith,
who has worked with Hodge for 28 years.

Aside from the
opening of the new John Drescher Planetarium at SMC, other highlights
Hodge recalls were Halley’s Comet close approach to Earth in 1985
and 1986, the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter in the early
1990s, and the Earth’s close approach to Mars in August 2003.

Halley’s
Comet “brought out a huge number of people,” Hodge said. “There
were nights we’d have 300 people standing in line for SMC’s
rooftop telescope.”

Hodge has not only
been busy stargazing, he has raised a family with wife Mary. He has three
grown children, two grandchildren and a third grandchild on the way. Neither
his two sons nor his daughter have followed in dad’s footsteps,
but his sons do have an interest in astronomy.